Kg Sg Baru Residents Postpone Eviction Let S Discuss First

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Kampung Sungai Baru residents are ready to hold discussions with government representatives on eviction operations, especially after the chaos yesterday.
They also called for the operation to be temporarily halted, as according to their lawyer N Surendran, such discussions would be impossible if the eviction is still ongoing.
“So we ask the government to accept the proposal to intervene immediately (and) to the developer to stop the eviction throughout this discussion process so that a decision could be agreed upon.
“We also hope for the involvement of other government agencies carrying out the development at Kampung Sungai Baru.
“We are not rejecting any development (but) we are ready, at any time, including this weekend, to have this discussion with government representatives,” Surendran, who is also the Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) adviser, said at a press conference held in the area today.
Also present at the press conference were the Kampung Sungai Baru Residents’ Rights Committee Chairperson Zainab Alias and other committee members.
Dang Wangi district police chief Sulizmie Affendy SulaimanDang Wangi district police chief Sulizmie Affendy Sulaiman had suffered a head injury yesterday, during the eviction operation against residents who refused to move.
It is understood that he sustained the injury when a commotion broke out after several residents tried to force their way into the operation area.
The operation, which included cutting off electricity supplies, began early yesterday morning with the presence of court bailiffs and the cooperation of several relevant agencies, as well as a large police presence limiting access to the house and only allowing those with passes to enter the guarded area.
When riot police blocked the residents, some threw objects, including stones, at them, where Sulizmie is believed to have been hit by one of those objects.
The police then issued a stern warning for the residents to disperse, which they eventually obeyed.
Following the incident, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Titiwangsa MP Johari Ghani would be asked to look into the matter.
Responding to Zahid’s statement
Surendran, in response to Zahid’s statement, reiterated the residents’ readiness to hold discussions with government representatives, as the latter said.
“Zahid has issued a statement (showing) his sympathy with the victims here (and) said that a government representative, (who is) also an MP from this area, will come down and help solve the issues in Kampung Sungai Baru.
Kampung Sungai Baru residents’ lawyer N Surendran“We are ready to discuss this with government representatives,” he said.
Surendran, who is also a former PKR-vice president, said the discussion is important for the residents’ welfare and justice.
“Let us (have this discussion) because this issue does not only involve the Kampung Sungai Baru’s residents’ welfare, but it is a national issue. The entire country is now looking at Kampung Sungai Baru.”
‘Residents being persecuted by the Act’
Surendran also said that the problem plaguing the Sungai Kampung Baru residents was due to the application of the Land Acquisition Act 1960 by the government in 2021.
He further claimed that the residents are being persecuted by the Act.
“The issues in Kampung Sungai Baru would not have arisen if the Land Acquisition Act 1960 had not been used. That is the cause of the problem.
“The government, at that time, intervened and used very drastic power to take the land and give it to the developer.
“The residents were forced to accept compensation money (in which they) never asked for (as) they wanted the land which had been inherited for generations,” said Surendran.
He further explained that despite the land acquisition being done by the previous government (Perikatan Nasional), that does not mean the current government has no responsibility in the matter.
“If things were not done right by the previous party or government, it is the current government’s duty to resolve this matter,” he said. - Mkini

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